Protect Her ~ supernatural / sam winchester

Nineteen

Dani threw her bag down on her bed, heaving an irritated sigh. She had not been able to look through the boy's room because of his girlfriend's surprise visit, so there was no way of knowing if there was a hex bag placed. Sam had called Dean just before they left the house to tell them that the hair in the bag was the last victim's boyfriend's. 

"Excuse me, Mrs. Ramos," Dean had said, stopping in the doorway. Dani had stared at him, confused.

"Yes?"

"This may seem like a strange question, but did anyone close to Michael pass away? A friend, maybe?"

The woman had looked up the stairs, presumably checking for her daughter. "Uh, yes. His father."

"I'm sorry," Dani had quietly offered. She merely nodded, wrapping her arms around her.

"It's been tough, but we'll get through it." Dani smiled tightly at her and Dean said their goodbyes for both of them.

"That damn girl," Dani had groaned in the car.

Dean chuckled. "Bad timing."

"Did you see how she ran into me?" She shook her head. "I might not have seen her, but she could have been decent enough to move."

Dean laughed again. "Don't get catty, Dani."

"Shut up." She hit his arm, fighting the smile from her voice. "Did you see the little girl?" 

He nodded, taking a sip of the soda in his cup holder. 

"She didn't seem to like her."

He scoffed. "Please. She was like, five."

"So?" Dani crossed her arms. "Kids can be the best judge of character. Kids and dogs."

Dean looked at her for a moment. "You like dogs?"

She shrugged. "Of course."

He turned back to the road, a smile playing at his lips. "Sam likes dogs." She had smiled, too. 

The lighthearted feeling of the conversation had since left, and Dani put her head in her hands as she sat on her bed. Eyes still closed, she ripped off her leather jacket, warming. She knew it was a witch, but there was no telling who it was, and what the connection between the victims was besides having deceased friends or family. Witches normally did not kill at random, they used their powers and chose their victims wisely and with purpose. 

She rose and went to the kitchen-area sink, grabbing one of the provided plastic cups and filling it. Her mind raced, coming and going from the case at hand to the ongoing search for her demon relative. 

"Relax." A voice from behind made her jump. She spun around, hand coming to the gun at her side. 

There. Right there in the middle of her hotel room. There was Joseph.

She sucked in a breath, throat closing. "Joey?" The cup fell to the floor.

"Hi, Dani," his wide smile crinkled the corners of his dark eyes and revealed his crooked teeth. 

Her jaw hung in a wide expression of shock. Making a strangled sound, she backed up into the counter. "I-I burned your body, this isn't possible, I--"

"You know that a ghost can still be attached to something even when their bones have been burned," he said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Dani tasted bile in the back of your throat. "It's nice that you're letting people use my name for you, now. Makes me feel more alive."

"Stop," she ordered as he came closer, his sneakers making no noise on the dark blue carpet. He obeyed, still smiling up at her.

"I miss you," he softly told her, hand reaching to her. His voice was so familiar, the London ties thick in it.